Chlamydia Trachomatis in Rheumatoid Arthritis-A Novel Risk Factor of Secondary Amyloidosis?

Abstract

Renal involvement is considered to be one of the most severe complications, defining clinical course and prognosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Secondary amyloidosis often leads to renal failure and fatal outcome in patients with RA. Progressive renal function decline in secondary amyloidosis makes extremely important revealing possible predictors. Since effective treatment of secondary amyloidosis has not been developed yet, slowing down the progression of chronic kidney disease by impact on risk factors becomes extremely important. A causal relationship between chronic infection and secondary amyloidosis development have been well known for a long time, but main attention was attached to chronic purulent diseases, such as osteomyelitis, multiple bronchiectasis, etc. Special attention was drawn to such longstanding infection as tuberculosis. Meanwhile there are a number of other cases describing secondary amyloidosis development when chronic infection plays critical role, for example in Reiter's syndrome.